Megatron wins Madden cover, costs Lions upcoming season

On April 25, EA Sports announced that Lions wide receiver Calvin Johnson held off Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Netwon for the right to be on the cover of "
Madden NFL 13
."

"Knowing that millions of fans took part in the campaign, and to be the one they selected to appear on the cover of the game they play every day is an honor,” Johnson said in a statement. "To make it this far, and to beat out guys like Cam and Aaron Rodgers, a Super Bowl winning quarterback, it’s surreal to say the least.

"Much love to all the fans who voted for me."

Johnson outlasted 63 other NFL stars to win the seven-week, nationwide contest. Johnson, a sixth seed, is the first Lions player to appear on the cover since running back Barry Sanders in "Madden NFL 2000."

But no Madden story would be complete without a reference to the infamous "Madden curse."

Since the franchise started featuring athletes on the cover in 1999, everyone from Daunte Culpepper to Michael Vick to Donovan McNabb has been hit by the Madden jinx.

After Faulk was featured on the cover in 2003, his career severely declined. The Hall of Fame running back, who coincidentally is featured on this year's Hall of Fame edition, started 21 of a possible 32 games and never recorded another 1,000 yard rushing season.

In 2004, Vick graced the cover as the Falcons quarterback, but suffered a broken leg in the preseason and missed the first 12 games.

According to GameSpot, a fan created a website (SaveLTfromMadden.com) to prevent then-Chargers runningback LaDainian Tomlinson from appearing on the cover.

Which is why some fans are happy the top-seeded Newton was upset.

"I’m pretty happy about it to be honest,” Peter Fishbein, a Panthers fan from New York, said in a statement. "Now I don’t have to worry about a jinx.”

If Johnson is worried, he certainly isn't showing it.

"I’m not superstitious,” Johnson said. "I plan to go out and have an even better year this season. We’re a team that’s making a lot of progress and hopefully that will continue this year.”

This is the third consecutive year EA Sports has let its fans determine the face of the Madden NFL franchise, and the results were impressive. Nearly 20 million votes were tallied in this year's contest, almost double last season's totals.

"Madden NFL 13" is developed by EA Tiburon and published by EA Sports. It's set for release on Aug. 28.